At 5 a.m. on Nov. 11, 1918, representatives of Germany and the Allied Forces gathered in the personal train carriage of French general Ferdinand Foch to reach an agreement to end one of the deadliest conflicts in history. Six hours later, the first World War would come to an end.
The anniversary of The Great War's armistice became an official holiday in Britain in 1919, later to become a global holiday recognizing those who died in conflict under different names, including Armistice Day, Remembrance Day, Poppy Day or -- in the United States -- Veterans Day.
Now the best-known symbol of Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, the red poppy grew on the battlefields of Flanders and northern France, becoming associated with World War I through John McCrae's iconic poem, "In Flanders Fields."
Let the solemn photos of Armistice Day events in Belgium, Serbia and France remind you of the courage of armed forces and civilians in conflicts around the world.
Soldiers march through paper poppies on cobblestones during an Armistice Day ceremony under the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium on Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. The Menin Gate Memorial bears the names of more than 54,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are not known. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Attendees watch as a band marches during an Armistice Day ceremony under the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium on Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Francesca Shaw, from Leeds, England watches as paper poppies fall during an Armistice Day ceremony under the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium on Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)
Serbian army soldiers take part in a ceremony marking Armistice Day at the French military cemetery in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Serbian army soldiers salute during a ceremony marking Armistice Day at the French military cemetery in Belgrade, Serbia, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Nov. 11 marks the signing of the truce that ended the fighting in World War I and for remembering the soldiers killed in the war. (AP Photo/Darko Vojinovic)
Citizens of the southern French town of Nice wearing "Poilu" or French World War I infantry uniforms, take part in an Armistice Day ceremony in Nice, France, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)
A citizen of the southern French town of Nice wearing "Poilu" or French World War I infantry uniforms, takes part in an Armistice Day ceremony in Nice, France, Monday, Nov. 11, 2013. Nov. 11 marks the signing of the truce that ended the fighting in World War I and for remembering the more than 1 million French soldiers killed in that war. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau)